The Softball-Team swept the SG Sissach Frogs/Therwil Flyers. The Challengers were challenged little on their way to their 16-0 and 19-9 victories.
The visitors got off to a very focused start in Therwil. A bases-loaded walk by Isabelle Tan made it 1-0, a two-run double by Alexia Zingg made it 3-0, and a wild pitch and another walk with the bases loaded by Vianne Benz made it 5-0. This was enough for the win, as 17-year-old guest pitcher Janina Liechti from the Panthers once again delivered a strong performance as a pitcher. She allowed only two hits in four innings, with zero walks, one hit-by-pitch, and eight strikeouts for a shutout win. Meanwhile, the offense kept its foot on the gas and the game ended 16-0 after four innings. Carmen Lutz-Demetz had two hits and three RBI, Simona Cellar had two hits and two RBI and Alexia Zingg had three RBI.
The second game initially continued in the same vein. The Challengers took a 14-0 lead before the home team managed to at least slightly narrow the gap. However, this did nothing to change the Zurich team’s 19-9 victory.
Simona Cellar had an in-the-park home run and two hits with two RBI, Carmen Lutz-Demetz and Alexia Zingg each delivered two hits and three RBI, Larissa D’Hondt belted two doubles, Simone Zusrschmitten had two hits and Mrinalika Singh Dev and Amanda Marxer contributed two RBI each.

Continue Reading » Two wins for the Softball-Team

Following the baseball team’s double header on Saturday, the softball team also played in Lucerne on Sunday. And the women’s team also ended up splitting. While the Challengers increased their pace in the first game and secured a comfortable 26-14 victory, they were ineffective offensively in Game 2, ultimately losing 1-8.
It began as a wild game. Numerous hits, numerous walks, and numerous errors made the officials, especially the scorer, sweat. The Eagles managed to claw back the deficits they had incurred until the game was tied at 12-12 after three innings. But they were unable to respond the Challengers’ 14-12 lead in the fourth inning. Meanwhile the Challengers kept their foot on the gas until the very end, taking the opener 26-14.
Carmen Lutz-Demetz had three of the 17 hits. She also totaled five RBI. Taylor McCants and Simona Cellar also had three hits and two RBI each, Alexia Zingg added two hits and three RBI, and Anouchka Michel had one hit and three RBI. Leandra Simitivic was credited with the win, as she gave up two runs in 4.2 innings as a reliever, allowing four hits and four walks with seven strikeouts.
The second game lasted exactly half as long as the morning’s matchup. The main reason was that the Challengers couldn’t find a way to counter the pitching of Eagles pitcher Rio Sanchez. Meanwhile the home team scored one or two runs in each inning, so Sanchez’s two-run home run in the fifth inning to make it 8-1 set the deal. Lara Müller drove in the Challengers’ only run in the second inning, making it 1-1.

Continue Reading » Eagles and Challengers Softball-Teams with one W each

The first softball derby of the season at the Klopstockwiese ended in a split. The Challengers won the first game of the day 10-3. The defending champions Zurich Barracudas responded with a 10-1 victory in Game 2.
The Challengers had a good start into the new season. After four consecutive wins they suffered their first setback a week ago with two losses in Wittenbach against the Panthers. It was exciting to see how they would react against the reigning Swiss champions. And it was the Challengers who set the pace. In the first inning, they benefited from errors in the Barracudas’ defense to take a 3-0 lead.
Meanwhile the Challengers’ defense put in a nearly flawless performance. Janina Liechti, a picther on loan from the Wittenbach Panthers for today’s game, had a brilliant day. The 15-year-old allowed only four hits and three runs with six walks and five strikeouts in 4.1 innings and was credited with the win. The Challengers offense also made a decisive impact. In the fourth inning, Tamara Ammeter made it 4-1 with a bunt single, before Carmen Lutz-Demetz, Isabelle Tan, and Karen Hendren pushed the score to 8-1 with three consecutive doubles. A sac bunt by Simone Zurschmitten and an RBI single by Janina Liechti completed the inning and decided the game.
The Barracudas, however, seemed to have learned their lesson for the afternoon game. The Swiss champions took a 5-0 lead in the first inning with doubles by Mariah Jameyson, Amy Mathis, and Chiara Perisset. The home team had used up all their energy in the first game. The Challengers managed just one run, thanks to an RBI single by Leandra Simitovic, and a total of six hits and eventually lost 1-10.
But overall, the Challengers could be satisfied with the gameday, having split against the defending champions.

Continue Reading » Softball-Team with split against the Swiss Champion

After four consecutive wins the Challengers were stopped in their away game in Wittenbach. The Panthers prevailed 9-7 in a hard-fought game and followed with an easy 11-1 victory in the second game.
Although last year’s finalists from Eastern Switzerland were mostly on the gas, the Challengers were largely able to hold their own, at least in Game 1. The C’s erased an early 0-2 deficit thanks to an RBI single by Taylor McCants, an RBI-single by Carmen Lutz-Demetz and a run by Simona Cellar on a wild pitch to make it 3-2. The Zurich team even managed to tame a 5-run inning by the Panthers. A 2-run double by Marianne Aellen followed by an RBI double by Taylor McCants made it 6-7, and Isabelle Tan tied the score again in the fourth inning. But the Panthers took the lead once more, scoring one run each in the fourth and fifth innings. This time the Challengers couldn’t respond. While they did get some traffic on the bases, they couldn’t score any more runs.
Taylor McCants, Carmen Lutz-Demetz, Karen Hendren, and Mia Matas each had two hits for the Challengers, who even had the upper hand in hits, 11-8.
The second game, however, was a one-sided affair for the Panthers. They were already up 4-0 after two innings and responded to the Challengers’ lone run thanks to an RBI single from Isabelle Tan, posting seven runs in the third inning that ended the game early after four frames with a final score of 11-1.
The Challengers will face the champions Zurich Barracudas at home next Saturday.

Continue Reading » Panthers stop Softball-Team

The Challengers delivered a strong performance in their home game against the Bern Cardinals on Mother’s Day. With numerous hits and nearly flawless defense, the Zurich team controlled the games at all times and celebrated two commanding home victories, 14-4 and 12-5.
The visitors only briefly had the upper hand at the beginning of the opening game, when the Cardinals got off to a perfect start with four runs in the first inning. But with a ground-rule double from Isabelle Tan and a base-clearing double from Simone Zurschmitten in the bottom half of the first inning the damage was quickly repaired from Zurich’s perspective. And in the second inning, after a run by Lara Müller on a wild pitch, Taylor McCants and Simona Cellar extended the lead to 10-4 with their two-run singles. Although the Cardinals repeatedly caused base traffic, the Challengers’ defense performed commandingly and didn’t allow any more runs. After four innings, the Challengers won 14-4.
Taylor McCants led the offense with two hits and three RBI, while Tamara Ammeter and birthday girl Carmen Lutz-Demetz had two hits each, and Anouchka Michel, Isabelle Tan, Simona Cellar, and Marianne Aellen scored two runs apiece. Simone Zurschmitten was credited with the win with two shutout innings.
The home team immediately took control in the second game as well. Karen Hendren opened the scoring with an RBI in the first inning, before the Challengers extended the lead to 6-0 thanks to Marianne Aellen’s two-run single, Anouchka Michel’s RBI single, Isabelle Tan’s RBI bunt single, and Karen Hendren’s sac bunt. The Cardinals, however, stayed in the game with some solid plays, including a two-run double by Nicole Kühni and an RBI double by Stephanie Mischler. This reduced the Challengers’ lead to 9-5 in the fifth inning. But the Zurich team managed to snag the three runs they needed to win the mercy rule by capitalizing on two errors by the Cards to secure a 12-5 victory.
Carmen Lutz-Demetz, Simone Zurschmitten, and Tamara Ammeter each had two hits, and Ammeter earned her second win of the season in three innings as a relief pitcher. Thanks to the split between last year’s finalists, the Wittenbach Panthers and the Zurich Barracudas, the Challengers, the only undefeated team, currently lead the standings. The next two weekends will reveal where the Zurich team truly stands. They will face the Panthers and the Barracudas one after the other.

Continue Reading » Softball Team performs well on Mother’s Day